By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Storm snaps  Aces  17 game  win streak  with  86-83 victory to force  Game Three

Skylar Diggins scored 26 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 24 as the duo led the Storm to a nail-biting win in Game Two of the WNBA first-round playoffs. With the win, the Storm forced a deciding game three  Thursday night in Las Vegas

INTENSITY FROM THE START

 The noticeable improvement from game one to game two was the energy and passion from the Seattle Storm. Both teams were clear on their mission. For the visiting Aces, it was rinse and repeat: the same game one strategy. Start on the front foot, put doubt in the mind of the Storm, and close out the three-game series. It was to take the fight to the bully and punch her in the mouth.

“ There are sitautions were you let the game come to you and tonight, you know, we came to the game. And so yeah, I thought we didn’t react, we responded,” said  Ogwumike .  First of all we got  the start that we wanted. And play with the type of force and physicality. 
”

HIGHLY CONTESTED START

 What ensued was a highly contested first quarter in which the Storm started off with high energy and efficient ball movement.   Ogwumike and A’ja Wilson led their teams in shooting.   Ogwumike was 4/6 for 11 points while Wilson was 3/5 for 8points.  Another notable adjustment by Storm head coach Noelle  Quinn was to get Dominique Molanga early minutes.  Although Malanga played just four minutes, she was 1-3 from the field and grabbed two rebounds. The quarter ended with the Aces leading   22 -21.

The second quarter was all Diggins. After a scoreless first quarter in which she played distributor, Diggins made three of four three-point attempts,  two free throws, and a bucket to finish the quarter with 15 points.   The Aces’ A’ja Wilson also had a hot hand in the quarter. Wilson made all three of her shot attempts. One of which was from the three-point arc. Wilson finished the quarter with eight points. The first half ended with the Aces holding a 45-44 lead.

COLD SHOOTING THIRD QUARTER


  The Aces took advantage of a cold-shooting Storm in the third quarter.  Jackie Young touched the Storm for 15 third-quarter points, and things were bleak when Cheyenne Parker-Tyus’ two free throws gave the Aces a 14-point lead with 2:05 left in the quarter. Ogwumike converted a three-point play and followed it up with a three-pointer to lead the Storm to a 8-2 run to finish the quarter. The Aces led  at the quarter break 69-61, but the moment was on the Storm’s side,  


 FURIOUS FOURTH QUARTER

The  Aces ballooned their lead to   75-63 on Wilson’s layup with  7:06 left in the game.  The Storm were able to keep their composure down the stretch with hard-nosed physical defending that made the Aces uncomfortable  in their half-court offensive set. The Storm forced two Aces shot clock violations, a take foul by Chelsea Gray, all of which added up to a 20-3 run by the Storm.  In the run, Erica Wheeler hit two three-pointers, and Dominque Malonga’s three-point play with 31 seconds left in the game gave them a 84-83 lead.  

“I saw Dom streaking and just threw it up to the basket,” said Diggins, who had seven assists. “It was a nice catch and a tough finish by her. And I’m really impressed by (her making) the free throw. That’s a big moment by a 19-year-old. We’ve been asking a lot from her all year.” 

The Aces threw the ball away on their next possession, setting up the game-winning shot from the top of the key with 4.7 left in the game.  Jewell Loyd’s last-ditch three-point shot missed the mark, and the Storm lived to fight another day.

“ And you know, I think that today was probably one of our best showings of composure. We weren’t too high, we weren’t too low, we were responsive, we weren’t reactive, “ said Ogwumike in the post-game conference. “ And we took every possession as seriously as we could. 
So for us to be able to use that experience that we got, you know, since the All-Star break in the postseason, that’s exactly what it’s for.”

POST GAME NOTES

KEY STATS OF THE GAME 

  • The Storm forced 15 Aces turnovers and converted them into 18 points, compared to Las Vegas’ 11 points off turnovers. 
  • Seattle outscored Las Vegas 16-4 in fast break points. 
  • The Storm turned a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter into a three-point win. 
  • Seattle shot 50% from beyond the arc (10-for-20), while Vegas shot 36.8% (7-for-19). 

STORM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Skylar Diggins led all Storm players with 26 points (her playoff career high), seven assists, two steals and a block. She went 66% (4-for-6) from beyond the arc and made her 100th career postseason basket. Her 15 points in the second quarter are the most by any Seattle player in a game this season. 
  • Nneka Ogwumike notched a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. She passed DeLisha Milton-Jones and Diana Taurasi to become No. 18 on the WNBA’s all-time postseason rebounding list (310). She went 80% from three-point range, draining four of her five attempts. 
  • Dominique Malonga also notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She went 100% (3-for-3) from the line and set the Storm franchise record for most rebounds by a rookie in postseason play (21). She became the first rookie reserve in WNBA history to record two double doubles in postseason play. 
  • Erica Wheeler came off the bench for 11 points, all coming in the fourth quarter. She notched 11 on 44.4% shooting from the field, including 40% from beyond the arc and 100% from the line. 

ACES HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Jackie Young led Las Vegas with 25 points, A’ja Wilson added 21 points and 13 rebounds. 

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